Dual welt for hats



April' 4, 1950 s. RAuscH 2,503,131

' vDUAL-WELT FOR HATS Filed sept. 28, 194e MEA/m SoLoMoN BAU; cH

Patented Apr. 4, 1 950 y. 'UNITED S'I'ATE"3 PATENT OFFICE.

.if L l v .2,503,131 DUAL WELT Fon HATS Solomon Rausch, Beacon, N. Y. Applicationsjggember 2s, 1946, serial No. 699,986

'.4 Claims.

`This invention relates to 'hats and in particular to a dual welt for the edge of the 'brim thereof.

A particular object of the invention isl tojnish the brim ofi'ra hat about its peripheral ,edge with a welt thatl will provide a neat appearance both from the front and rear of the hat.

A still further object of my invention is to provide in combination with the dual welt, va semielliptical yshaping strip of flexible materialg-that is sewn tothe brim separately or 4with the dual welt koi: binding material to preserve the pre-formed shape vof the brim and prevent the edgeof the brim from becoming uneven, wavy or wilte'd look ing particularly after the hat becomes wet.

Still further objects of my invention are to provide a piping or binding material which may be sewn about the edge of the brim so that the upper and lower parts form a dual welt and may enclose one or more shaping strips that are applied to theedge of the brim to maintain both the front and back shapes of said brim.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following descriptionA and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims khat embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the hat shown in Fig. 1 showing the application thereto of a dual welt and a shaping strip,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section in perspective taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 buttaken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2 and broken away in part to illustrate a section of the shaping strip.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a shaping strip, one or more of which may be applied to thehat.

Fig. 6 is a plan view similar to Fig. 2 showing the application to the brim of the hat of twc shaping strips, the latter being shown in outline.

Fig. 7 is a side view of the hat illustrated in Fig. 2 showing the finished appearance of the brim thereof.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged section taken .pn the line 8-8 of Fig. 7 showing the use of a shaping strip on the top of the brim at the back of, the hat.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged section taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. '7 showing the use of a shaping strip on the bottom of the brim at the front'of the hat.

Referring to the drawings in detail I0 indicates a hat of the type commonly worn by men and 55 having a crown II and a brim I2, the latter of which may be turned up in the back and down in the front or may be turned up all around. The felt from which the hat is made has an unfinished' appearance at the edge of the brim I2 and in order to improve the appearance thereof I provide va. piping I 3 which is made of the same material as the hat is made of. The piping 'I3 isl dou-bled upon itself so as to be U-shaped in cross-section and is sewn in position about the peripheral edge of the brim I2 so that the upper and lower portions I4 and I5 respectively; of the piping I3 form a dual welt which is secured by the stitches I6 to the brim and gives the edge of the brim a neat nished appearance as the hat is viewed from all sides.

Various hats are shaped to suit the taste of the individual. Some are turned up in the back and down in the front and some, in the Homburg style hat, are turned up all around. When the hat gets wet the brim has a tendency to get out of shape. In order to preserve the preshaped form of the hat I provide one or more semi-elliptical shaping strips I'I made of buckram, plastic or other flexible material providing back and front halves either or both of which may be sewn to the brim separately or with the stitching I6 that secures the piping I 3 to the brim.

As shown in Fig. 5 the shaping or stiflening strip I 'I may be cut out of material in quantity without regard to use at the front or the back of the hat. As indicated in outline, as at I 8 in Fig. 6, the strips may be applied to the peripheral edge of the brim so that the free ends I9 thereof will be spaced to provide the shaping zone or bending line 20 between the ends of the strips. It is evident that this unsupported shaping zone between shaping strips will permit the brim of the hat to be shaped up in the back and down in the front and at the same time provide definite places at the opposite sides of the hat where the material is turned down. This will prevent the hat from getting out of shape and prevent the downwardly shaped portion from taking in too much of the periphery of the brim. The same condition is true of the back of the hat. If desired only one shaping strip may be employed to be placed on the top of the brim at the back ofv ,thee hat and in the event of the use of the shaping strip on the Homburg style of hat the ends of the strips may abut to form a continuous strip on the top of the brim.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to al1 changes and modications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A soft felt hat having a crown and a brim provided with a peripheral edge, said edge having a stiffening strip disposed against the rear part of said edge and kanother stiffening strip disposed against the forward part of said edge, the ends of the two strips being located at a point approximately midway of the forward and rear ends of the brim to provide a weakening line on both sides of the hat brim for shaping the brim, and piping material enclosing the peripheraledge of the brim and said stifening strips.

vstrips securing the same in position, said shaping strips having their adjacent ends slightly spaced Y on opposite sides of the brim forming a weakened line along which portions of the brim may be bent up or down, said slightly spaced ends of said shap- 2. In a hat having a crown and a brim, a pairv of opposed semi-elliptical shaping strips engaged .o 3. In a hat having a crown and a brim, a pair of opposed semi-elliptical shaping strips engaged against the edge portion of the brim, and a piping strips being. onopposite sides of the brim substantially'midway between the front and the back of the brim, the front shaping strip being positioned against the bottom face of the brim and Athev rear shaping strip being positioned against the .top face of the brim.

.. SOLOMON RAUSCH.

, BnrnnnNcns CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

" UNITED STATES PATENTS Number .Name Date -108,884 Corey Nov. 1, 1870 346,593 Lawrence et al Aug. 3, `1886 371,970 vv Price Oct. 25, 1887 

